Nine Cardiff Rugby stars have been included in the Wales squad to kick-off the Guinness Six Nations against Scotland on Saturday.
Corey Domachowski packs down at loose-head for his first appearance in the Championship, James Botham makes a welcome return to the number six jersey, Josh Adams continues on the wing and Cam Winnett makes his international debut at full-back, capping a remarkable six months for the 21-year-old.
There are a further five Blue and Blacks included on the bench in Keiron Assiratti, Teddy Williams, Alex Mann, Tomos Williams and Mason Grady.
Mann joins Winnett in earning his first cap should he be called into action at the Principality Stadium.
Warren Gatland said: “Cameron Winnett is just a lovely footballer and I think he’s going to develop into a quality international player in the future. He’s young and there’ll be no pressure on him. We’ve been impressed with the way that he’s trained. He’s done really well in training, progressed really well and following consultation with his surgeon everyone was happy for him to be selected.
“It’s also great that Alex Mann is on the bench and will hopefully get his debut as well.
“I think there’s a really nice balance in the squad. We’ve got some players who were involved in the world cup so have some experience and then some exciting youngsters and when I look at that forward pack, it’s not a small forward pack. It’s a big forward pack.
“Scotland haven’t won here in a long, long time and it’s an opportunity for us to continue with that record. The roof’s going to be open, Scotland want the roof open which I think is a little bit disappointing from an atmosphere point of view, because when that roof is shut it does tend to create a lot more atmosphere and noise in the stadium. But that’s the decision that they made.
“The players understand how important this first game is in the competition. The sold out stadium, go out there, you get the Six Nations off to a good start, you can create some momentum.
“I’ve been really pleased with their attitude and the way that they’ve trained this week and we should be really excited about this first game.”
On the absences of George North and Will Rowlands Gatland added: “George got quite a big stinger in terms of his shoulder and didn’t take part in full training last week so Owen Watkin comes into the midfield.
“Will hasn’t come into the squad yet. His wife had a baby a couple of weeks ago in France and unfortunately there were some complications. So the message to him has been you stay home and be with your family. We always talk about how important that is and he’ll turn up when he’s ready.”
Wales senior men’s team to play Scotland in the Guinness Six Nations, Saturday 3 February KO 4.45pm GMT. Live on BBC and S4C.
15. Cameron Winnett (Cardiff Rugby / Caerdydd – uncapped / heb gap)
14. Josh Adams (Cardiff Rugby / Caerdydd – 54 caps)
13. Owen Watkin (Ospreys / Gweilch – 36 caps)
12. Nick Tompkins (Saracens / Saraseniaid – 32 caps)
11. Rio Dyer (Dragons / Dreigiau – 14 caps)
10. Sam Costelow (Scarlets – 8 caps)
9. Gareth Davies (Scarlets – 74 caps)
1. Corey Domachowski (Cardiff Rugby / Caerdydd – 6 caps)
2. Ryan Elias (Scarlets – 38 caps)
3. Leon Brown (Dragons / Dreigiau – 23 caps)
4. Dafydd Jenkins (Exeter Chiefs / Caerwysg – 12 caps) Captain / Capten
5. Adam Beard (Ospreys / Gweilch – 51 caps)
6. James Botham (Cardiff Rugby / Caerdydd – 9 caps)
7. Tommy Reffell (Leicester Tigers / Caerlŷr – 13 caps)
8. Aaron Wainwright (Dragons / Dreigiau – 43 caps)
Replacements
16. Elliot Dee (Dragons / Dreigiau – 46 caps)
17. Kemsley Mathias (Scarlets – 1 cap)
18. Keiron Assiratti (Cardiff Rugby / Caerdydd – 2 caps)
19. Teddy Williams (Cardiff Rugby / Caerdydd – 1 cap)
20. Alex Mann (Cardiff Rugby / Caerdydd – uncapped / heb gap)
21. Tomos Williams (Cardiff Rugby / Caerdydd – 53 caps)
22. Ioan Lloyd (Scarlets – 2 caps)
23. Mason Grady (Cardiff Rugby / Caerdydd – 6 caps)